As senior citizens age and their reflexes slow, their adult children often wonder whether their parents should still be driving.<br />The question is even more pressing when the parent is suffering from cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease.<br /><br />But cars aren't the only potentially deadly weapon a cognitively-impaired person has the right to own.<br />A recently published survey of caregivers revealed one-third of people with Alzheimer's disease have access to a firearm in their home.<br />But according to CNN, few caregivers have discussed what to do when their loved ones are unfit to handle the guns.<br />Most caregivers were open to discussing gun safety with doctors. However, only 5% said their health care providers had broached the subject.<br />Alzheimer's and other kinds of dementia can cause changes in thinking and memory that could make someone unsafe to handle a gun, even if that person has a lifetime of experience. Lead researcher Associate Prof. Dr. Emmy Betz University of Colorado School of Medicine
